The ANTi-Curse or The Webster Games
by SuperStar091
Summary: The A.N.T.s discover a curse on Webster High School and follow instructions to rid the school of it - but the only way to do that is choose 24 students to fight to the death in a one-time competition known as the Webster Games.
1. Chapter 1: The Curse

**I do not own the Hunger Games, nor A.N.T. Farm. If I did, that'd be pretty sweet, but I don't, so... Yeah.**

**I appreciate comments, whether constructive criticism, suggestions, or encouragement! Thanks for reading, enjoy!**

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"Whatcha got there, Olive?" I asked, plopping down on the couch next to her. It was just a regular day in the A.N.T. Farm, and I had a whole hour ahead of me to relax before lunch. Olive was turning something rock-like in her hands, grey-ish but slightly iridescent, and about the size of a fist.

"I actually have no idea what it is," she answered.

"Can I see it?" I said. She handed it to me. It was rough, shiny, and very lovely. "Huh. Well, it's pretty. Where did you find it?" Olive pursed her lips.

"Um, in a dark corner of the school basement."

I laughed. "Why were you down there?"

"Hiding from Angus," she responded quietly.

"He just doesn't leave you alone, does he? What has it been, four years? He hasn't stopped crushing on you since sixth grade."

As if on cue, Angus walked into the room eating a piece of pizza. Noticing Olive, he slid into his computer chair and winked at her before returning to his food and putting on his headphones. "Sorry. I get what you go through. It's kinda like how Fletcher used to act, but all the time, nonstop," I noted.

"Fletcher wasn't that bad at all."

"Yeah, but I'm still glad he stopped liking me."

"... About that, Chyna, you should know-"

She was cut off by Fletcher entering the room carrying an art canvas. "Hey guys," he cheered. Olive and I stood up to greet him. "Hey, Fletcher, how was Art?" I asked.

"Great, we worked with paint, my favorite," he answered with a smile. After setting down his artwork, he came over to see what we were looking at.

"Check out this freaky rock," I said, handing it to him.

"Whoa, that's cool - Angus, come check this out!"

"Huh? What?" Angus mumbled, coming to join us.

"It's this weird thing... Wait, is that writing?"

Olive peered over Fletcher's shoulder to see clearer. Light cursive words that seemed to be part of the rock were barely visible. "Writing? Hey, I didn't notice that there before."

Fletcher squinted and read it out loud to us:

_A cursed stone, a cursed school_

_Music, Knowledge, Art and Skill. _

_What can pay for the troubles of the past?_

_The Four can unlock something that will._

_Music must sing the loveliest tune, _

_Knowledge, about the curse must know._

_Art must paint the circle,_

_And Skill make the stone glow._

"That's all it says," said Fletcher.

"'A cursed stone, a cursed school, what can pay for the past?' And what 'the Four' have to do? I'm confused," said Angus.

I stuck my hand out and ran my fingers over the writing. "This is weird..."

Suddenly, Olive's eyes went huge. "Hey, I remember something about a school curse! Webster High School History, written by Randall Gringott, published 1996. It was a book in the school library. I didn't read everything about the curse, but I can find the book again."

"I don't really believe in old legends and stuff," I told them, "but I'll go check it out with you."

Olive and I took a trip down to the school library and had absolutely no trouble finding the book. The dusty top pages showed that not many students really cared that much about their school's past. After checking it out, we returned to the A.N.T. Farm to read together.

"The Webster High School Curse has been upon the school from the day the building was built," read Olive. "The grounds the school was established on was an old battleground, and people warned against building something there. A debate arose on whether or not they should leave the land untouched, as the town needed a school and there was virtually no other place to build. Finally, against warnings, it was decided construction should continue, and the building built was therefore cursed.

"Soon after this, a fortune teller came to the town and foretold that there would be a day people would pay for building on cursed land. The teller gave the citizens an enchanted stone that would choose the correct time for payment to take place, and then the school will be un-cursed and at rest. All that was needed was for the stone to show itself and the directions to be properly followed."

Angus cocked his head. "Maybe that's why Paisley kept falling down and breaking her bones, or why science projects never go right. Hey, maybe if we get rid of the curse, Skidmore will leave!"

Fletcher stared at the stone. "So this thing is enchanted, and we just need to follow the instructions to un-curse the school? 'Music must sing the loveliest tune, Knowledge, about the curse must know. Art must paint the circle, and Skill must make the stone glow.' Chyna, it sounds like you're music, Olive, you're Knowledge, Angus is Skill, and I'm Art."

"We could follow the directions and see what happens," suggested Olive.

"I guess there's no hurt in trying it out," pointed out Angus. "Chyna, you in?"

I was having a hard time believing it was actually real. Someone probably just wrote on a pretty rock and left it in the school basement, knowing it would scare someone that had read about the curse. "It sounds pretty phony. But, I guess I'll give it a shot. I just have to sing, and singing can't hurt anyone."

Olive took the rock, and the lead. "OK, Chyna, sing away. 'The loveliest tune.'" I went through a list of songs in my head, and picked out "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift. That had a pretty melody. Quietly, but getting louder, I began to sing.

_"I remember tears streaming down your face_

_When I said I'll never let you go,_

_When all those shadows _

_Almost killed your light."_

"Keep singing," called Olive over my voice. "2nd step: Knowledge. I guess I already know about the curse, so step 3: Fletcher, paint the circle."

"What do I do?"

"Umm... Take this paper and paint a circle on it, I guess."

"Got it," said Fletcher as he pulled out a paintbrush and paint and skillfully made a neat red circle on the paper.

Olive took another look at the poem instructions. I kept on singing.

_"I remember you said_

_Don't leave me here alone_

_But all that's dead and gone and past_

_Tonight."_

"Lastly, Angus, I think you're Skill, so somehow you have to make this stone glow, I guess? Forget it, this is stupid. Why are we even doing this?"

"Wait a second, I can do this, no problem. Let me see it."

Angus took the stone in his hands and studied it. Finally he went over to his computer and typed away on his keyboard.

_"Just close your eyes,_

_The sun is going down_

_You'll be all right,_

_No one can hurt you now."_

"Here we go," muttered Angus as he pulled out a cord from his backpack. With a small knife, he cut the plastic outer coating off of one part and used electrical tape to attach wires to the exposed inside cord. He plugged this into a wall socket. "And just put the rock on this paper, attach this wire end here and there, viola."

_"Come morning light..."_

The stone began to glow a little, then a little more, until it shone like a night-light. I almost stopped singing in shock, and stumbled on the lyrics, but kept going.

_"You and I'll be-"_

Olive looked at Angus in disbelief. "How did you do that?" The stone continued to grow in brightness. Fletcher, next to me, shielded his eyes, and Olive shut hers tight.

_"Safe and-"_

I didn't get to finish my singing, because right then the stone flashed a brilliant light and exploded. I closed my eyes from the painful light. When I opened my eyes, spots dancing in my vision, the rock was gone. And instead, in its place, on the table in the middle of the paper circle, stood a person.


	2. Chapter 2: The Fairy

The spots from my vision cleared and I just stood, staring at the woman that had taken the place of the rock. She was beautiful, with smooth dark hair pinned in a bun and light, shimmering skin. She wore a deep purple gown that reached the floor, and multiple jewel bracelets and pendants. But the strangest thing about her was not any of those, but that on her back were large, clear, shiny wings! While I observed her, she turned around slowly to see the room. Suddenly, she whipped back around to face me.

"You, Music, bring me the headmaster of your school immediately," she snapped. I glanced over at my fellow A.N.T.s. They looked at about the same level of shock. "NOW!" she growled at me.

"Yes, right away," I sputtered, dashing out of the room to find Skidmore, and managing to drag her back to the A.N.T. Farm. The fairy-lady took a look at Skidmore and then me. "Thank you, A.N.T." As the lady, who was still standing on the table, addressed my principal, I scooted over so I was standing with my friends again. For reassurance, I grabbed Fletcher's hand next to me and squeezed it. He glanced over at me.

"Susan Skidmore of Webster High School, you remember the Curse, do you not?"

Skidmore looked scared out of her wits, but trying to hide it. "Y-Yes, we teachers were informed of it."

"The time has come now for payment to take place. I have been freed and now the anti-curse must occur. I will need all of your staff, including you, to aid me.

"I am in charge of leading the payment in whatever way I wish to, as I was one who warned the citizens of the town not to build on the land. The only way to get rid of this curse is by the bloodshed of 23 students of the school, one for each of the people that warned the town. And, well, over the years of being trapped inside that stone, I have pondered how to carry the deed out."

I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. What have we done by following those instructions? Freed a creepy murderer with fairy wings? I squeezed Fletcher's hand tighter and seriously considered bolting for the door.

She continued her speech. "At first I thought it would be easiest just to gather the amount and simply execute them, but then I thought, where's the fun in that? So I considered gladiator games, and dropping them in the middle of the ocean, but those we're too common; too cliche..."

Too cliche? Since when were those cliche?

"And then I got the idea to have 24 students, two from each class in the school, kill each other. The end result would be one winner. The 23 lives would be paid, and the one victor can bring glory and honor to their class. So I stuck with that and planned it for over the last 10 years.

"Now that you've unleashed me, everything is already set up. All I need is your co-operation and the school will be rid of the curse soon."

The P.A. System crackled overhead. The fairy lady spoke, and somehow her voice came out of the speakers. "Students, this is not a drill, please make your way to the gymnasium urgently. This is not a drill, drop everything and make your way to the gymnasium." She gave us a cold stare. "That means you, A.N.T.s."

No hesitation, we sprinted to the gym.

We were some of the first people there. Long tables and a door blocked the entry.

"Guys, wait up!" Angus was huffing and puffing, trying to catch up to us.

"Over here, please, students," came a voice from one of the tables. I recognized Mrs. Janet, who taught Language Arts, but she was dressed in a white jumpsuit and had a blank, empty look on her face. So did all of the teachers. We walked up. "Names, please."

We told her our names, and she had us sign our signatures on a piece of paper. Our writing was scanned with a weird machine, and a computer above her head flashed "A.N.T."

We were shown into the gym by two white-jumpsuit people. I gasped when I saw it. The stage curtain was raised, and large bowls of different colors on stands were lined up at the bak of the stage. A single microphone stood downstage center, and the lights were low except for the theatre lights. The four of us were led to a roped-off area at the far left corner of the gym, with a sign that also said "A.N.T."

"I'm scared, you guys," I said. "Is this seriously happening? 24 students fighting to the death?"

"What did we do? I'm so sorry, guys. We shouldn't have followed those instructions," apologized Olive.

"I really didn't believe it would do anything," I sighed.

We shared a group hug, and I felt tears welling up. I was scared. How would they pick people? The fairy lady said two people from each class would be called. If I got chosen, would I have to fight with and possibly kill one of my best friends?

The gym filled up with students quickly. I spotted Cameron across the room, I think in the Theatre division. Wait, Theatre? It figures. Cameron would audition horribly and get the smallest part, so it took no effort to be in. Lazy brother.

A spotlight flicked on, bringing my attention back to the present. Horrible suspense hung in the air. All around me, people were confused as to what was happening. So far, only Fletcher, Olive, Angus, and I knew what was going on.

A worried-looking Skidmore shuffled onto the stage carefully in her ridiculous 4-inch heels (her everyday shoes) and to the mic. When she tapped it, a hush fell over the room and she began to speak.

"Welcome, students, to the first and last ever Webster Games. If you didn't know before, there is a curse over the school from long ago, and the only way to pay is for this to happen. Without further adieu, may I introduce to you the organizer of this event, the fairy Moonshine."

The scary fairy, Moonshine, flew onto the stage flapping her fairy wings. She landed in front of the mic and looked out at the fascinated students.

"The Webster High School Curse came from building this school on forbidden land. 23 people warned the town of the curse that would follow if construction continued, but their warnings were ignored. Now, in payment, 23 lives must be sacrificed."

Gasps and lots of chatter erupted from the crowd.

"QUIET!" screamed Moonshine. The students immediately quieted. "What we will do is take two students, one boy and one girl, from each class, and have them fight to the death, leaving only one survivor." More chatter, more gasps, and a couple of sobs came from the audience.

"Don't worry, if you are drawn, a duplicate clone of you will be made and sent home in your place to continue your lives for you." More sobbing this time.

"Here is how the system works," she began, and waited for us to quiet down. "All of you here are high schoolers, except for younger A.N.T.s. Only the older A.N.T.s will be eligible for the Games, as choosing younger students would upset the competition.

"9th graders are entered in the bowl once, 10th graders twice, 11th graders three times, and 12th graders four times. The only way you can get more entries is if you were in detention or suspended in the past school year. A detention counts as one extra entry, a suspension counts as three. So hopefully you were well behaved this year!"

So I was only entered 4 times. Once, because I was in 9th grade, three more times because of all the trouble we get into at the A.N.T. Farm. I held up four fingers and mouthed "four" to Fletcher. He nodded and held up four, too. Olive frowned and held up 5. Angus put up 3. He was usually too interested in his food to join us in our crazy adventures that landed us in detention more times than not.

"Students that are not reaped will stay here at school (clones will be sent to your homes for a few days) and watch the Games. You'll be allowed to choose one person from your Class that wasn't reaped to be a mentor, who manages the sponsors in the Fairy Capitol and chooses gifts to send."

Then Moonshine smiled the happiest yet creepiest smile. "But choosing mentors comes later. For now, let the reaping begin!"


	3. Chapter 3: The Reaping

"Class 1 - Gym!" Two white-jumpsuit teachers carried forward the two red bowls from the outermost sides of the stage. Little folded slips of paper were visible in each one.

"Ladies first." Moonshine floated over to the bowl on stage right. Digging her hand in, she pulled it out holding a piece. "Vanessa Johnson," she said into the mic. Viole(n)t's older, tougher sister.

Violet used to come to A.N.T. Farm, but her parents pulled her out before she could get expelled for anger issues. Her older sister stayed at Webster though, and here she was, being reaped for the Games.

She confidently pushed her way through the Gym kids and climbed the steps to the stage. She looked so ready to fight, it was scary. Moonshine glided to the other side of the stage and dunked her hand in the other red bowl. "For the boys... Simon Chase." They shook hands, and were led off the stage to who knows where.

For Class 2 - Cheer/Dance, Paisley was reaped, and unfortunate David Crowell was drawn from the only four boys in the class.

Class 3 - Woodworking, a short, determined-looking junior girl was picked, and a Hispanic boy with scrapes and bruises on his arms.

When Class 4 - Theatre bowls were brought up, a pang of terror shot through me. Cameron. I could only hold my breath and hope he didn't get picked. Look at all the names in the bowl, Chyna. He's only in there... How many times? Three times automatically, but how many times was he in trouble the past year?

"Alexis Reid," called Moonshine. Lexi was drawn?

Horrible shrieks sounded from the Theatre class. "No! No! You can't take me, I can't go, no, no!" screamed Lexi as three blank-faced teachers worked together to drag her to the stage. As soon as they let her go, she bolted, so they ended up holding her up on stage while she squirmed. I almost felt bad for her. Lexi's usually perfect hair was messed up from her struggle, and all the makeup she wore couldn't hide the look of distress on her face.

Scary Fairy reached into the Theatre boy's bowl, swished her hand around, and finally chose a piece. Unfolding it, she read into the mic the name.

And it was Cameron's name.

"No!" I cried, stepping forward, but Olive stopped me. I watched silently and horrified as a somber-looking Cameron walked to the stage. He stood, quietly, facing forward, until he had to shake Lexi's hand. Then they were marched off the stage, and he was gone.

Everything else flew by. Names were drawn, and students went to the stage, some shocked, some sad, some panicked, some confident, some unreadable. An intelligent-looking girl from 6 - Math, a tall, muscular boy from 8 - History, a small, timid freshman from 9 - Home Ec, and twins from 10 - Band. The tributes shook hands and left the stage.

"And last, but not least, Class 12 - A.N.T. Farm." This brought me back to my senses. Where previously things sped by, everything moved in slow motion. Two teachers brought forth the bowls, pale blue in color. In one bowl, my name was written on 4 pieces of paper. Olive's was in there 5 times. In the other, 7 slips of paper read the names of my best friends. Moonshine flew to the girl's bowl. She paused for a moment, thinking of what she should do, then went with the first slip of paper on the top. The paper unfolded in her hands, she leaned into the microphone, and I closed my eyes tightly...

"Chyna Parks."

Silence around me. I opened my eyes. I looked around, first at Olive, then at Angus, then Fletcher. I was doomed.

"Where are you, Music? Come up here!"

Without daring to look at my friends again, I started to push through the other A.N.T.s standing there. Someone grabbed my hand, and I looked back to see Fletcher, but I wrenched my hand from his grasp and ran to the stage. The lights hurt my eyes and they started watering, so everything looked blurry. Moonshine led me by my shoulder to the right side of the microphone, then flew to the other bowl. I watched her intently. Who would be the other unfortunate tribute?

A blurry Moonshine dipped her hand in the bowl, swished her hand around, and pulled something out. "Fletcher Quimby."

Fletcher. Fletcher would accompany me in this trip. The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs turned my head, I saw Fletcher making his way to the stage.

"Congratulations, Fletcher and Chyna. Shake hands, now, you two."

Fletcher walked up to me and offered his hand. I shook it, thoughts flying through my head at warp speed. How would this end? Both of us fighting each other, dead by each other's hands?

Two staff led us off backstage. I quickly took one last glance at the auditorium, and just barely caught glimpse of Olive. She nodded at me, a fiery look in her eye. I had no idea what it meant, but I took it as a reassurance. You can do this.

As Fletcher and I walked through the gym doors, Moonshine's voice could be heard. "Well, that was a great ending to a wonderful reaping! Now, each Class will elect their mentor..."

I turned to face forward again, and we were taken through some doors and down stairs. We said not a word to each other until we reached the school basement.


	4. Chapter 4: The Train

Fletcher was the one that broke the long silence between us as soon as we took the last step down. The school basement was no longer a dark and dusty school basement, but a train station. Train tracks ran the lengthwise of the floor, and into tunnels in the walls on either side of them.

"I don't remember that being there," he marveled. A long train with twelve cars, each different colors, and their own boarding stations sat there. The teachers led us forward towards the last, pale blue car, matching the hue of the reaping bowl. The doors on the train slid open, and we were ushered inside.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I stepped in that train car. Plush carpet, beautiful velvet couches, two flat-screen TVs, a window, a fancy oak table with tons of bowls and plates of food on it, and a crystal chandelier dropping from the ceiling. Three doors were on the side of the train, one with a sign hanging from the door that read 'Chyna', another with one that read 'Fletcher.'

The white-jumpsuit teacher, who I recognized as Mr. Brunner, the mythology teacher, pointed to the doors with signs on them. "These are your rooms, and one is for your mentor," he explained, almost no human in his voice. "We will arrive at the Fairy Capitol tomorrow morning, so make sure you get a good night's rest. Your Classes' elected mentor will be here shortly." With that, both teachers turned and exited the train car, closing the doors, leaving me and Fletcher alone.

I walked over to one of the couches and plopped down in it. It was just as soft and comfy as it looked. Feeling stressed, I curled up in the tightest ball I could and let out a sigh.

Fletcher came and sat down on the opposite side of the couch. We didn't say anything. The constant tick, tick, tick of the clock and our breathing was the only sound, until I spoke aloud one of my thoughts.

"Who do you think our mentor will be?"

Startled by my sudden voice, he looked at me. "I don't know."

Then we went back to our silence.

After about 5 more minutes, he turned to me again. "Chyna, what are you thinking right now?"

I lifted my head from my knees. "What's that?"

"What are you thinking about?"

I sighed again. "How scared I am."

"I'm scared, too," he said. "I don't want to fight anyone. I just want this to be a bad dream, and I'll wake up tomorrow in my bed, ready to go to school to see you and Olive and everyone else."

"I wish that was the case."

Right then, the doors opened and in stepped - Olive! Fletcher and I ran to her and tackled her in a hug.

"Guys, I was elected! I'm riding with you to the Fairy Capitol, and I'll be staying there to help you out through the Games," she explained.

"Awesome," commented Fletcher.

But I was ready for seriousness. "Olive, I hope you have some information about what's happening. We need as much help as possible before we go."

"Yes. They gave me this thing," she held up a walkie-talkie looking thing that had a screen. "It's actually a videophone. We use it to get information about events, and guess what?" Olive turned on the videophone and pressed a small button on the side. Suddenly, the screen showed Angus sitting at his computer desk.

"Oh, hey guys," he said.

"Olive, how? That's so awesome!" I said.

"Angus hacked it before we left. We were almost caught, but now we have an extra source of help," Olive explained. "We'll have to talk to you later. See you soon."

"Bye!" The three of us on the train cheered. Olive pressed the button again, and now we were looking at a screen of writing. She read it through.

"Right now, we're being taken to the Fairy Capitol, that's where we'll prepare for the Games." she said, then put down the videophone. "There will be lots of fairies, just like Moonshine, and they think this is like a big reality TV show. Some can choose to sponsor their favorite tribute, so you've gotta try and earn their love and adoration so they pay, and I can send you gifts to help you survive. To try and earn those sponsors, there will be a parade and an interview at the Capitol."

A white-jumpsuit staff checked on us in our car, then shut the door. The train began to move, and we were off. We moved at just the slightest slant upwards, so we reached ground level. The window changed from showing the concrete of the basement wall to the blue of the sky.

We slowly ate some of the food on the table, even though we were nervous, and Olive turned on the TV. All that was showing was a video of the reaping earlier. "Shut it off, shut it off," I urged, but Olive wanted to keep it on. "This is what your possible sponsors are watching, let's see how much work we have to do."

In the recap, we got to Class 12. Moonshine called my name, and I have no idea where the camera was in the gym, but it showed me pushing through the crowd to run up on stage. A shot showed my expression when Fletcher grabbed my arm, and another as tears formed in my eyes on the stage. I looked dazed and confused and frightened. Exactly what I was at the time.

"I can't watch this any longer, I'm going to bed early," I said, going to and standing at the door that read 'Chyna.'

Fletcher nodded. "I don't even want to see mine, sorry Olive. I don't think I can handle that. Goodnight, Olive, goodnight, Chyna." His eyes met mine, and he gave me a faint, worried smile before quickly disappearing into the 'Fletcher' room.

"Goodnight, Olive. Don't stay up too late," I warned.

"I won't. Sleep tight."

The 'Chyna' room was also nicely decorated. A queen-sized bed with a down blanket and a tall wardrobe filled with clothes took up most of the space. I opened up the wardrobe, and went through some of the things. Everything looked my size and my style. I found a grey t-shirt and pair of plaid pajama pants in the wardrobe and put them on, and folded my day clothes and set them aside. Then I slipped into bed and tried my best to get a good night's sleep.


	5. Chapter 5: The Nightmare

"FLETCHER!" I screamed as another knife flew at him. He ducked, and it stuck into the bark of a tree. "Run!" I yelled, panicked. We sprinted away from the attacker, weaving in and out between trees and rocks. Another knife whizzed by, barely missing my ear.

"Ahhh!" I heard from behind me. Stopping made my feet slide on the leaves, and I turned to see Fletcher clutching his side and crumpling to the ground. One of the knives had gotten him.

"No, no, Fletcher, no, you can't!" I muttered as I ran to him and tried to hold him up.

"Go, Chyna," he mumbled, his eyes closing.

"Fletcher, no, stay with me! We have to keep going, you'll be OK!"

"Go..." he was saying, when suddenly he began to melt into a pile of goo in my arms. I stood and backed up, brushing the disgusting stuff off of me. The goo on the ground changed colors, and rose from the ground again, forming... Cameron.

He wielded a machete, and had an angry look in his eye. When he spoke, it sounded like many people instead of just him, "Chyna! How could you do such a thing? You terminated innocent life. You killed Fletcher, too. Now, we will destroy you, monster!" With that, Cameron came at me with the machete, slicing at the air, just barely missing me, as I shrieked and ran.

Suddenly, I crashed into something. I looked up to see Skidmore. She held up a handful of knives. "Goodbye, tiny A.N.T."

I turned to run to my left. Olive appeared from nowhere, a pistol in one hand, the videophone in the other. "How could you? You killed Fletcher!" she cried. "Yeah!" jeered Angus from the small screen of the phone. "My best friend, dead!"

Behind me. My last escape. A ghost-like vision of Mom and Dad materialized, each of them holding long swords. "We're ashamed, Chyna."

I was trapped. All four sides advanced on me. My death was so imminent, right in front of me (well, behind me and on both sides, too), when I woke up. In an instant, the nightmare vaporized, but the terror remained. I'd never had a dream that creepy and disturbing.

I tried my best to roll over and go back to sleep, but the dark was terrifying, so I got up and went to the train car. I flipped on the light switch and assumed my balled-up position on the dark purple velvet couch. Just as I was about to nod off, the sound of a door creaking open startled me. It was Fletcher, in PJ pants and a t-shirt, with his hair messed up a little. I found myself half smiling at the sight, but wiped it away before he could see.

"Hey, I saw some light from the bottom of the door, are you all right?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry if I woke you up," I said softly, so not to wake up Olive. She was cranky when she was tired.

"Nope. I wasn't asleep anyways. Nightmares," he explained, rubbing his eyes.

"Same," I replied.

He walked over to the other side of the couch and sat down in the same spot as yesterday afternoon.

A yawn escaped from me. "What time is it?"

Fletcher glanced at his wristwatch. "3:30."

"I should probably get some sleep, but I'm too tired to get up... And too comfy..." I complained, uncurling from my ball and closing my eyes.

It fell silent again. I probably would have kept up the conversation, and so would he, but, hey, it was 3:30 in the morning, brains don't function well that early. So I started dozing off, focusing on the steady inhale and exhale coming from Fletcher. I figured he was asleep and let sleep overtake me, too.

"Rise and shine! We've got a big, big day ahead of us!" called Olive, knocking loudly on the door. Wait, knocking on the door? I had fallen asleep on the couch the night before. Huh. I was all tucked in under the blanket, and the lights were off and the door shut. Fletcher. I smiled to myself. He must have carried me to my bedroom after I fell asleep.

After dragging myself out of bed, I went to the wardrobe to pick out some clothes. I found a cute lavender short-sleeve peplum top and dark denim skinny jeans, and added the silver necklaces and boots I was wearing the day before. Quickly, I ran a comb through my hair and brushed my teeth in the little bathroom, decided I looked somewhat presentable, and went into the main room.

"Well, good morning, Chyna, you look nice," cheered Olive.

"Thanks, so do you," I replied. She wore a well-fitting grey business suit. "Morning, Fletcher," I smiled.

"Good morning," he answered.

"So Olive, what's up with the professional look?" I asked.

"I thought I would look nice for the Fairy Capitol. Even though you guys are the ones that have to attract sponsors." She eyed Fletcher's ripped jeans and paint-splattered t-shirt from the day before. "Chyna, I'll have you help him choose something fashionable later, but for now, take a seat. We'll be there in about a half an hour."

I pulled up a chair and sat down across the table from Olive next to Fletcher. The blueberry muffins looked delicious, so I helped myself to one.

We chatted about little things, like the great decoration of the train, and the other tributes, for about 15 minutes. Then, Olive sent me off with Fletcher to choose him an outfit, warning us we'd be there very shortly.

Fletcher's bedroom looked like an exact mirror of mine. As soon as we were inside, he rolled his eyes. "She thinks I can't pick out a perfectly good outfit myself?"

"You're not that bad at fashion. I'd rate you a 7 out of 10."

"Why 7?"

"Because I feel unforgiving today."

"Any reason?"

"Not really. Today- and yesterday have been great, it was like having a sleepover with my two best friends. But considering the situation we're in, it's hard to have fun. I'm almost enjoying myself, and then I have to remember, I'm on a train to go fight and kill a ton of people I know because I followed some rules written on a rock."

I threw open the wardrobe doors and started looking through the clothes.

"I know, it's stressful. Dreamlike."

In the wardrobe drawer were pants, and I began going through those too.

"Oh, yeah, um, did you carry me to my bed last night? All I remember is falling asleep out there and then I woke up in my room..." I blurted, just saying what I was thinking at the second.

"Oh. Yep. You didn't look very comfortable, you were, like, half hanging off of the couch."

"Well, thank you."

"No problem."

I wanted to stay true to Fletcher's artistic style, so I held up a worn-out vintage band tee and red skinny jeans. "OK?"

He nodded, and I tossed the clothes to him. I went back to the main room.

"Thanks, Chyna," he said, as his door closed.

So it was him. I thought so. No doubt, Fletcher was probably the sweetest guy ever, and I was convinced of it.

I was happy that he was my best friend.

"What are you smiling about, Chyna?" asked Olive, glancing up from her excited scribbling in her notebook.

I was smiling?


	6. Chapter 6: The Parade

Olive was on the videophone, talking to Angus about survival strategies and sponsorships, while Fletcher and I played a game of cards.

"Go Fish," he said, and I did so. He was winning right now.

"Angus, there are seniors in there. Fletcher and Chyna are pretty much the smallest ones. Hand-to-hand combat strategy is not such a good idea," Olive was arguing to the phone.

"Yeah, never mind, scratch that... Long distance weapons? Either of them any good at archery?" asked Angus' voice.

Olive looked up to ask us. We both shook our heads. I'd done archery before, when I was about 8, but wasn't any good at it, from what I remember.

"They say no," she said.

"Ugh! We just don't have any fighting strategy at all!"

"That's fine. They can just survive out there, wait until everyone else kills each other, and they're good."

"... I guess you're right."

Something beeped on the videophone.

"Oops, Angus, I'm getting a message from the Fairy Capitol. Talk to you later." Olive pressed the button. "Here we go," she said. "We've arrived."

It felt like a cold shower had just drenched me. Dread hit me, hard. I didn't want to be there so soon.

"Check this out, guys," she called, and Fletcher and I rushed to the window.

"Whoa," Fletcher and I gasped at the same time. We were pulling into the Fairy Capitol, and just the outside of it looked amazing.

A huge castle-like fortress stood tall underneath what appeared to be a giant bubble. Just as I started wondering what it was, Olive came to the rescue with her explanation.

"That's the barrier. You can't pass through it, in or out, without passing tons of guards."

"So we're trapped," I said. "Bye, bye, outside world."

The train slowed momentarily as a couple of scowling man-fairy guards nodded and a door opened in the side of the bubble dome. We sped up again.

"And hello, Fairy Capitol," muttered Fletcher. All of a sudden, we were speeding through a blur of color. Everything was bright and sunny. I caught a few glimpses of fairies in crazy fashions, with huge butterfly wings, and flowers the size of a grown person. I stared out the window, not wanting to miss any of the hypnotic vividness, and as soon as we went into a tunnel, I blinked and stumbled back. My eyes hurt from the intense color.

The train came to a stop inside the tunnel. The train doors opened slowly to reveal white-jumpsuit Teachers. I was glad to be off of the train, but extremely worried about the next chain of events. Olive led us outside to the Teachers, and they took us down a gray hallway. None of the other train cars were visible. Maybe they had other unloading stations.

Finally, after walking and wondering silently, we came to an elevator. Once all of us were inside, it lowered, and we stepped out moments later a floor lower, into a room with fancy wallpapered walls and nice velvet couches. The best part was the huge round skylight in the center of the room, shining down tons of fresh sunlight. It reminded me of the train, but even bigger and fancier.

Without a word, the Teachers went back into the elevator and Olive, Fletcher, and I were alone. But only long enough for us to share looks, because in walked two extremely bright-colored people.

One was, I believed, a man, with neon green curly hair cut close to his head, a mysterious look on his face, a brown shirt and khaki pants, and transparent wings. The other was most likely a lady. She had long neon pink curls, unrealistically long eyelashes, and a flouncy lavender sundress. The two smiled at us.

"Hello!" cheered the lady. "I'm Hyacinth, and I will be Chyna's stylist for the parade and the interviews," she said, looking at me.

"I'm Cinnamon," said the man. "Fletcher, I'll be working with you."

Olive pushed us forward to shake their hands. Hyacinth scared me a little, but she shook my hand gently and gave a little hopeful smile that made me drop my worries.

"Well, the parade is in about an hour, so... Let's get to work," said Cinnamon, as he started to lead Fletcher off to a room. Fletcher looked back to me, I think reluctant to leave.

"It's OK," I mouthed to him.

"Don't worry, guys," reassured Olive. "I'll be waiting out here for you."

"Ohh, yes, I forgot," Hyacinth said. Then, whipping something stick-like out a pocket in her dress, she waved it at the table and a stack of magazines appeared. Olive looked at the fairy, then at the magazines.

"Whoa!" said Olive. "Can you make encyclopedias appear, too?"

With a simple wave of the wand, thick books materialized on the table.

"Thanks!" Olive cried and she grabbed one, interested.

Then Hyacinth whisked a shocked me away to another room, one with a table to lay down on inside of it. She stood me in front of the table.

"Cute outfit, but we'll have to change out of it..." She waved her wand and I was suddenly in a hospital-gown type covering.

"That's amazing, what it that?" I asked, mystified.

"It's a fairy wand," she answered. "You don't have anything like this in the human world?"

"No, we don't. In fact, I didn't think fairies or magic were real until recent events."

"Most humans don't know about us. Some do, but that's just because we grant their wishes for them." She motioned for me to sit on the table, and I did.

"All right, we have to get you ready here for the parade. I had an idea, you're an A.N.T., right? And your Natural Talent is music. So I thought we could have you wear something magically musical." A swish of the wand, and a rolled-up piece of paper flew over from the table and unrolled itself before me, and hung in the air. I gasped when I saw the design on the sheet.

It was a colored-in sketch drawing of my costume. It was purple and soft yellow, ball gown style, with silver musical notes all over. The top was strapless but for a strap on one side made completely of little silver rhinestone notes. The bottom, ball gown part was purple and yellow tulle. A musical note tiara graced the drawn mannequin's head, and the hair was done up neatly in a bun with a curl hanging down on both sides. You couldn't really see the shoes, but they were black peep-toe heels. I was in love with it.

"Will this be OK?" Hyacinth asked.

"I love it!" I cried.

"Good!" she said, excited.

Over the next half hour, my legs were completely shaved, my hair washed and deep conditioned, my eyebrows waxed and plucked, my hands manicured, my feet pedicured, my skin moisturized, and my whole body left sparkling clean, all with the help of Hyacinth's magic.

"It's time," she said. "Close your eyes." I obeyed.

"Open," she said, seconds later. Slowly, I opened my eyes to see a smiling Hyacinth.

"Look at you!" whispered Hyacinth as she magicked over a full-length mirror from the wall.

"Oh," I exclaimed when I saw my reflection. The dress looked even better on. And the tiara, oh, the tiara! It rested over the bun in my hair, looking just like the mannequin in the sketch, with the two curls on either side. There was just enough sparkle and shine and tulle, but not too much. And the music theme made it even better.

"Time to show your friends," said the genius creator of my costume. She led me out into the main room, just as Fletcher was coming out of the other one.

He had a tuxedo with colorful paint splatters on it, and a purple bow tie that looked like it matched my dress. His hair was combed back, with a bit of a wave to it. He really did look handsome.

"Oh wow, uh, Chyna, you look... You look great," he complimented.

"Thanks, you look awesome," I returned. It was sincere.

"Perfect," piped Olive from the couch, shutting the thick encyclopedia she was already about halfway through. "I love them both. They match your talents, too. Yeah, I think you'll be very memorable."

Hyacinth laughed. "I'll keep the music theme in mind as I design the interview dress! And Cinnamon can style another art-themed outfit." She looked us both over again, and sighed contentedly, making her hot pink hair fall off of her shoulders.

"Let's get you two to the parade."

It turns out, the skylight was an elevator of sorts. There were so many surprises and new things, that I almost stopped being amazed at them, but when Cinnamon asked us to stand on the table, it was a different story.

Fletcher, Olive, the two stylists and I stood on top of the table, and Cinnamon pressed a button on some remote control thingie. The table raised up, until it was near the skylight, when the skylight glass spilt and opened up.

"I want one of these in my house," I marveled to myself.

The brightness of the Capitol above was just as intense as when we first rode the train through it. The table finished rising and stopped at the ground above us, in a large round room with no ceiling and one entrance to what I thought was the street. I noticed that a lot of round glass circles in the ground were opening up and revealing familiar faces, tributes from other Classes, and I recognized most from the reaping. I saw Paisley and Lexi and... Cameron! But he was across the room, and I didn't think it wise to run over and see him. I settled for a wave. He half-smiled and waved back. He had a Greek toga on, matching Lexi's, except Lexi had a golden tie around her waist. They both had laurel crowns.

"Hey, look," pointed out Olive. Behind all of the skylight elevators were chariots, a matching pegasus pulling it. Fletcher and I had the powder blue one, the same color of the reaping bowl and train car. Our Class color must have been powder blue.

"Attention, tributes," said a voice easily recognizable as Moonshine's. I shuddered at her voice. It reminded me too much of what was coming up, and that the reason this was happening was partly my fault.

"The parade is beginning in 3 minutes, please be prepared and in your chariots. We will go by Class order."

Fletcher held out his hand to help me into the chariot. When we were safely standing inside, Hyacinth smoothed out our costumes and closed the door with her magic.

"We'll just be watching the screens from here," she told us, pointing upwards to a huge TV monitor on the wall. Currently, it showed Moonshine, looking extremely fancy and beautiful, making her way to a microphone.

"Welcome, welcome!" rang out her voice, all of the sound coming from the street entrance. "I am pleased to introduce to you the one and only tributes of the one-time Webster Games!" Cheers came from the huge crowd.

Olive came up to the side of the chariot. "Guys, remember, this is all to gain sponsors. Make the people love you, or death is imminent in the arena."

"Thanks for the pressure, Olive," Fletcher said. Class 1 went to the entrance in the round room and went to the street, and the fairy crowd roared again.

"We have Class 1 - Gym, look at how athletic and determined they look, and here's Class 2 - Cheer and Dance -"

"Ready?" I asked Fletcher next to me.

"Uh, maybe," he responded. Our pegasus whinnied, and we laughed nervously.

Then Class 10 pulled away. We were up soon.

"Chins up, smiles on!" Olive cheered, and the pegasus reared and took off, faster than we thought.

"Ahh!" I cried, grabbing Fletcher's hand for support and trying not to fall. We burst through the entrance onto the street, droves of fairies as far as the eye could see watching us interestedly. Picking out their favorites to sponsor.

I put on my biggest smile and waved to the crowd, even blew a few kisses here and there.

"Last, but not least, Class 12 - A.N.T. Farm. For those of you unfamiliar with Webster High School, the A.N.T. program stands for Advanced Natural Talent. Here with us we have Music and Art!"

More loud cheers, more waving and smiling. I noticed I was still holding on to Fletcher's hand, and let go right away. He looked at me.

"No, don't let go. I'm scared I'm going to fall off." I grabbed his hand again and we laced our fingers together.

"I think they'll love this," I whispered, and lifted our held hands in the air. The fairies went wild around us. I took a second to smile at Fletcher, then went back to working the crowd.

After a while, our arms got tired from holding them in the air for so long, and we lowered them, but kept them linked. Even though we both had nervous sweaty palms.


	7. Chapter 7: The Interview

Olive was ecstatic about our 'phenomenal performance' in the parade, and didn't stop talking about it all day.

After Hyacinth and Cinnamon helped Fletcher and I back into normal clothes, we left the stylist ward and tried our best to push through the fairy crowds screaming our names. A few people asked for autographs, a couple pledged their sponsorships, and one little girl told us that our costumes were the most beautiful in the parade. Hyacinth blushed at this comment.

Our group went out to dinner that night, and we hardly had any peace at all. People kept asking for us to show our talents, because they'd never seen A.N.T.s before, and after enough requests, Olive forced us to.

Someone handed me a guitar, and I sang "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera. They loved it.

Fletcher took some of the leftover food and used it as paint on a canvas someone made appear with their fairy wand. I couldn't see what he was doing at first, but within 5 minutes, he made a scarily realistic portrait of me out of chocolate cake, coffee, tea, vegetable stir fry, and fruit salad. I cracked up, and he came at me with food covered fingers, resulting in him chasing me around the table.

Then it was Olive's turn. At first, she resisted, but someone asked her what caused an eidetic memory and she became the normal fact-spouting Olive again.

I was glad to finally get away from everything and crash in my train car bedroom, where we were sent to stay for the night. My last thought while I got ready for bed was how Cameron was doing. I had almost forgotten that he was also on this trip. But I didn't have enough energy to think about it, so I crawled into bed, and the second my head hit the pillow I fell into a deep sleep.

"Get up, get up, get up! Another big, big, day!"

Another morning of Olive waking me up by knocking on the door.

I was amazed at how much of a morning person she was. I obeyed and crawled out of bed, got ready and dressed in a red bass clef heart sweater, and skinny jeans. I kept my hair in the bun from yesterday, it was just a little messy, and it made it extra cute.

Olive informed us that we would be eating breakfast out, and that we better be in a good attitude for the sponsors. She had me choose an outfit for Fletcher again, and I gave him a red t-shirt and skinny jeans. We matched.

We went to a fairy's equivalent of an iHOP. Fletcher and I both ordered all-you-can-eat pancakes, and Olive got the Good Morning platter. It started feeling a little claustrophobic squeezed in the booth, with all the fairies around watching our every move, but Olive nudged me and whispered, "sponsors."

After we had our fill of the best pancakes I've ever tasted, we left to go to our train car. We watched Fairy Capitol news for a while, then ate, and did other random stuff, waiting for later tonight.

The videophone beeped, and Olive gave us the run-down while we ate lunch. "We're going to interviews at 6:00. This is just about your last chance to show the fairy world what you've got, because we leave for the arena tomorrow. I'll coach you guys later, once you're in costume and all beautified." Fletcher gave her a look. "And handsomified," she added.

Olive contacted Angus, and while they had their conversation and bickered like an old married couple, Fletcher and I just hung out

At around 5:00, in the stylist room, I was being prepared for the interview.

I wore a strapless party dress, light pink in color, that had a ton of sequins at the top part and soft material on the bottom. It reached to right above my knees. My hair was curled and pulled back halfway, I had delicate music note sparkly earrings and a treble clef pendant necklace, and sliver and gold bangle bracelets. My shoes were silver sandals with just a little heel. Hyacinth put my makeup on by hand, it was such a delicate look.

"And, there," she said, finishing my light pink lipstick. "Oh, oops." She grabbed the mascara and applied some more on one side.

"OK, now you're done." I checked in the mirror.

"I love it!" I gasped when I saw my reflection. "Hyacinth, you really are amazing."

She flushed. "Oh, thanks, Chyna."

Fletcher had on a plain white short-sleeve button-down and a purple bow tie, with black pants. His hair was its normal shaggy self, but looked a whole ton shinier. I reached out my hand to tousle it. It was super soft. Fletcher blushed. I apologized awkwardly.

We had an hour before we had to go to the Capitol center. We spent it training with Olive, who told us what would happen and gave us tips on how to answer questions. She propped up the videophone on the table, so that Angus could see and comment too.

She had us run a fake interview, where we walked on "stage" and sat down, and she drilled us with a few possible questions. After 45 minutes of that torture, she pulled us aside to work with us separately. I was first, and she told me just to be myself and answer to the interviewer like I would to Fletcher or her.

"Or me!" protested Angus, pouting.

When we got to the Capitol center, through a secret tunnel so no one could see our costumes, I started to get nervous. I felt unprepared for any questions that might come my way. The other tributes had amazing costumes, and they all looked very nice.

I wanted to see Cameron, but I was grabbed by a Teacher and scolded for mingling with the other Class members.

Teachers helped us line up backstage in Class order, girls first, then boys, and in no time, we were getting started.

"Hey, Fairy Capitol!" we heard from the stage. A monitor flickered on, and we could see what was happening out there. A man with smaller wings and a navy blue tux stood in front of two chairs. I guessed it was the interviewer.

The Class 1 girl, Vanessa, came on to the stage. The athlete looked amazing in an asymmetrical one-shoulder dress. Her personality, tough and confident, came through in her air and way of talking. The Class 1 boy acted pretty much the same. Proud and ready to fight.

Paisley, for Class 2, had a long pretty gown that paired great with her long, pin-straight blonde hair. I felt bad for her, she didn't understand half of the questions, and was laughed at a lot. When she came off backstage, she was crying. Poor Paisley.

Interviews continued. I spent most of the time thinking of how I would respond to my questions.

My attention was grabbed by the announcing of Class 4, Cameron's Class. Lexi sauntered onto the stage in a shop-stopping red dress and back heels.

"From Class 4 - Theatre, we have Alexis Reed!" said the interviewer, who I found out from Olive was named Caesar.

Once the applause died down, Lexi took a seat in the chair next to Caesar. "Please, call me Lexi," she requested.

"OK, Lexi, tell us a little bit about yourself."

"Well, I'm 16, I love anything singing, dancing or acting, and I'm so ready for the Games."

Cheering from the crowd. "Haha! Now that's the spirit!" laughed Caesar. She was the usual Lexi for the rest of the questions.

Then, it was Cameron's turn. He looked really nice, I've never seen him all dressed up this nice before, except maybe for prom.

Caesar asked him about his home life, and what he liked to do, and he joked around about not having a life. I could see Lexi backstage muttering under her breath out of the corner of my eye. Probably about how it was true.

In all of my worrying, all of a sudden Caesar was calling up the Class 12 girl, and Olive was shoving me towards the stage. Oh my goodness, I was going on!

I took a deep breath, put on a winning smile, and stepped out into the stage lights. Thunderous applause rose from the fairies. I waved and curtsied before greeting Caesar. He gestured for me to sit down, and I did.

"Well, aren't you little Miss Popular, isn't that right, Chyna Parks?" I giggled and the crowd cheered again.

"So, are you by any chance related to Cameron Parks from Class 4?" asked Caesar. I nodded.

"Yes, I am, he's my one and only brother."

"Oh, well that's tough luck that you were both reaped."

"Yeah," I gulped.

"You come from the A.N.T. Class, for students that are extremely talented and move up to high school early. What was it like, going to high school in middle school?"

I was thankful for the subject change. "It was definitely rough. It's hard when you're the youngest out of everybody, you feel small and sometimes picked on, but it's a lot easier to handle with friends."

"Friends almost always make things easier." He shifted in his seat to face me more. "So what's been your favorite part of the Fairy Capitol so far?"

"Huh, that's a hard question..." I sat back in the chair. "You know what, I'm going to say the magic. It's intriguing and, well, magical."

"Your first time experiencing real magic?"

"Yes."

"You know, it takes a lot of work to master the skill. Years and years of practice."

"It's really cool, though. One second, I was wearing normal clothes, and the next, poof, I was in a ballgown and tiara. It's very neat."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself here. I'm sorry our time is up right now, but I do wish you the best of luck in the Games." He took my hand and kissed it. I stood and waved again as I walked offstage, excited that it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

Olive congratulated me and gave me a silent high-five, then we crowded around the TV monitor to watch Fletcher.

"Hello, Fletcher, how are you doing tonight?"

"I'm doing great, how are you?"

"Oh, wonderful, thank you," Caesar said. "Please, have a seat."

"OK," said Fletcher, sitting down.

"Fletcher, what is your talent for the A.N.T. program?" asked Caesar.

"I'm an artist."

"That's right, I heard about your food art portrait last night." Fairies from the crowd laughed at the memory.

"So tell me, a charming young man like you, is there a special girl at home waiting for you to come back?" Fletcher seemed a little unprepared for that question. He fidgeted and leaned forward in his seat.

"Uh, well..." he looked at the ground. "There... There is this one girl that I've had a crush on for, like, forever..."

What? Fletcher never told me about a crush! I thought he could tell me anything! I crossed my arms, feeling a little betrayed.

"I'll tell you what," said Caesar quietly. "You win the Games, and when you go back to the school, she'll have to go out with you."

Fletcher bit his lip. "Thanks, but that really won't work."

Caesar looked puzzled. "And why is that?"

A deep breath. Go on, Fletcher, go on. "Because... She came here with me," he blurted out. "And now, I'm in a fight where one or both us of might die, and I feel horrible that this is the only way she'll find out."


	8. Chapter 8: The Goodbye

Fletcher just said that he liked me. Me, his best friend, me, Chyna Parks.

How did I feel about that? I searched my heart. What did I actually feel about Fletcher?

I remembered back to the A.N.T. Farm, a couple days ago, where I remarked how I was glad Fletcher didn't like me anymore. But he had been showing signs of it. I guess I hadn't been hating it that much. When I had a nightmare, and he came out to check on me, then carried me to my bed. His compliments on my dress, and his reaction when I touched his hair. Holding hands in the parade.

The rest of Fletcher's interview was a blur, and all of sudden I was being led on stage to line up with the other tributes. Fletcher took his place standing next to me. Fairies cheered from the huge audience, but I was too dazed to ham it up for them. I put on a smile and waited until I was finally able to leave the stage.

Tomorrow we'd leave for the arena. I basically only had tonight to talk to Fletcher, because we wouldn't have time before we went to the stylists. But right now, Olive was there, and I didn't want to say anything in front of her. We looked pretty awkward, walking down the tunnel not looking at each other or saying a word.

When we got back to the train car, Olive bid us goodnight and slipped silently into her bedroom.

"Angus..." I could hear. She was talking with the videophone. I guess she just wanted to avoid the situation. So did I, frankly. But talking to Fletcher was something that had to be done.

Fletcher bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Chyna," he said quietly.

"Fletcher, don't be sorry. I want to understand."

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way. But I'm going to die tomorrow, and I'd rather you know than not know."

"Stop it, you're not going to die," I said, choking back tears. He was right. I understood. He wanted to get it off of his chest before... before we went to the Games and were separated, perhaps forever.

"But I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

I smiled. "You're going to make some girl really happy someday."

Fletcher looked up at me. He paused, seeming hurt but trying to disguise it. "Goodnight, Chyna," he said sadly, then slid into his room and shut the door tightly.

Then I realized what I had said. Probably the worst thing to say at the moment. I stopped holding them back and let the tears fall. Maybe there could have been something between us, I kind of felt it that past weekend, but what I just said ruined anything that we had.

My last words to Fletcher were the worst goodbye I think I could have given.

I didn't see Fletcher in the morning. My stylist was now frantically brushing my hair and trimming my nails and making me look somewhat presentable. She used her magic to put on my Games suit, black cargo-pant-type bottoms and a black t-shirt that said "A.N.T." on the back and sleeves. I also had a lightweight jacket and hunting boots. My hair was braided and pinned up, and as my one souvenir I was allowed, I took my necklaces from home.

One of them was a silver heart-shaped locket, from Mom and Dad. When you opened it up, it held a family photo. The other necklace was a silver star, a birthday gift from Olive and Fletcher. I held them both tightly, wishing that I was home. But that wish wouldn't come true.

In the corner of the small, empty room I was in stood a glass tube. When I stepped inside, the beginning of the end of my life would start. My stomach hurt and my head ached with stress.

Just then, Olive burst into the room with the videophone. She started talking right away.

"Chyna, here's the plan. Don't go for the weapons in the middle. They call the beginning the Bloodbath, because everyone will try and get the weapons. Just run as fast as you can away from there, find shelter and survive. I told Fletcher the same thing," said Olive from the side of the room. I flinched at Fletcher's name, and Olive sighed.

"That was awkward last night. But you can get over it. Yeah, I kinda knew that he still likes you. I tried to tell you that at the A.N.T. Farm that one day, but..."

"Olive, you're making things worse. I already hurt him enough. He probably hates me after last night."

Moonshine's voice crackled over an intercom. "3 minutes and counting."

3 minutes.

"Fletcher and I are both going to die in the Games. Realistically. I don't want to think about it anymore. Can the last minutes of my life be happy ones?"

Hyacinth was busy adjusting my uniform and my hair, and Olive was growing visibly more frustrated.

"Chyna, listen," said Olive.

"Find him. Ally with him," said the videophone.

"Act like you're in love with him," added Olive.

"What?!" I cried. "Hey, I'll do the first two... But the third? No!"

"Did you see how the fairies reacted to the interviews? They loved it!" Olive demanded.

"It might be the only thing that keeps you alive," Angus said. "When sponsors are happy, they donate. Meaning we - I mean Olive - can send you life-saving gifts."

"2 minutes," Moonshine announced. I was being led towards the glass tube.

"You weren't there for what I said," I muttered. "He won't forgive me."

"But Fletcher told me. He's more scared that you won't forgive him. Redeem yourself. Apologize."

"Still, I'm not going to tell him that I love him when I don't... exactly... not like that... I..."

"Then act, Chyna. You're on the stage at Webster, performing Grease."

"In which the cast members kill each other?"

"1 minute 30 seconds," Moonshine called.

"Ugh!" grunted Angus, frustrated. "The point is, he thinks you hate him. And when your best friend that you happen to love hates you," he said this with particular emphasis, making Olive frown. "It's hard to keep going strong."

"Hmmph," commented Olive, like she was reluctant to agree.

"So at least find him, and talk to him. It'll help him. But if you want any sponsor gifts," said Angus. "You'll need to be a little lovey-dovey for us."

"Don't you dare say anything about this plan in there. Every move, every whisper is on camera," Olive added.

"1 minute," Moonshine said, tauntingly. Soon, I'd be out there.

"Plus," Olive mumbled, but I caught every word. "Fletcher doesn't really know your acting won't be real..."

"Basically, you want me to toy with his emotions," I said. It was true.

"To save both of your lives, yeah," cried Angus. "If you get out of there living, I'm sure he'll forgive you for rescuing him from death by fellow high schoolers."

"Give him a reason to fight," Olive said quietly.

"30 seconds," said Moonshine.

"Good luck, Chyna." Olive threw her arms around me. "I'm sorry we're asking you all this." She pulled away. "But it's for your own good."

"I can't give you a hug, since I'm stuck back here at Scary Skidmore School, but I can say: may the odds be ever in your favor."

"Good luck, Chyna," wished Hyacinth. "I know you'll do great." A tear slid down her cheek, and she quickly brushed a piece of my hair back into its braid. Once a stylist, always a stylist.

"10, 9, 8, 7..."

Hyacinth ushered me into the tube, and as soon as I was inside, the door slid shut. I pressed my hands on the glass. I was terrified. The platform I was standing on began to rise, up, up, up.

Hyacinth was now sobbing, her face in her hands. I couldn't bear to look at her. Olive stood, nodding to me. Angus, on the tiny screen, was giving me a thumbs up. My heart was racing, and I felt sick with nerves.

Then I saw the sunshine.


	9. Chapter 9: The Bloodbath

I was standing on a platform, looking towards the middle of a huge circle of students. In the center, there sat a large... What was that? A cornucopia? Yeah, we learned about that in school.

I spied Paisley a couple people to the left of me, tear stains visible on her face. She was shaking a lot. Then, a couple people over, Lexi, preparing to run out into the middle of the circle. I noticed Vanessa and the other Class 1 tribute. They scared me. Cameron was almost directly across the circle from me, too far away to catch his eye. Fletcher was three people away from my right.

On top of the Cornucopia was a timer, counting down from 44 right now. Visible inside the Cornucopia were boxes, probably of food and supplies, lots of weapons, like knives and bows and arrows, and backpacks. I shuddered looking at the weapons. Looking at them brought me back to the reality that I wouldn't be coming home.

The timer said 31 now. Olive said that I shouldn't go into the middle, but just run away. But look, right there was a blue backpack not too far away from where I was standing, about 6 feet. Should I go for it? Surely Olive only meant the very middle.

I debated the two options. Running for it might risk my life, but not grabbing any supplies at all would make it really hard to survive out in the arena.

I looked around the circle again. My gaze lingered on Fletcher. He glanced up and our eyes met for a second, but he turned away quickly. Maybe that's what Angus was talking about. He thought I hated him.

13... 12... 11...

I stretched my legs, making sure I didn't leave my station, as I was told, or the bombs would go off. I was prepared to run.

7... 6... 5...

I knew I shouldn't... But I'd just go for the blue backpack. That's it. Just get it and run, run far away, find a safe spot, like I was told.

3... 2... 1.

An alarm blared.

In one blur of time moving too fast and too slow at the same time, 24 tributes sprinted in all directions - away from the center, into the center. I had a millisecond to see Fletcher sprinting towards the forest, no supplies at all. He looked back at me, and then he was gone.

I ran towards the blue backpack, heart pounding. I reached to grab it, but someone slid on the ground and snatched it from my hands. I still had a firm grip on the bag, so I yanked and played tug-of-war with the person trying to steal it from me. The girl was short junior girl from 3, I realized, and just then she let go of the bag. I was surprised, thinking I had yanked hard enough to get it from her. She crumpled to the ground and it was then that I noticed the knife in her back. Where did it come from? I snapped my head up to see.

The knife came from Vanessa. She had a handful of knives in her fist and was pulling back her arm to aim one at me. I turned on my heel and bolted towards the foresty area, the backpack bouncing on my back. The knife stuck into the ground near my foot. In panic and terror, I ignored the screams behind me and kept on running through the forest.

I tripped multiple times and was smacked by tree branches even more, but I kept going. Finally, I collapsed on the ground near a large bush. Hoping it would give me some protection, I crawled underneath the bush and lay there, alert but exhausted. My right arm had a huge cut on it, and my knee was skinned badly. I brought my hand to my forehead and wiped off sweat and a little blood. I had bruises and cuts galore.

After examining my injuries, nothing too serious, I hoped, the thoughts that had been pushed out of my mind the last half-hour came flooding back.

First of all, where did Fletcher go? I wanted to find him, not to pull out the "love story" act that Olive and Angus wanted, but to ally with him. I agreed with all they said, about making sure he knew he was still my friend, but not about the sponsor-attracting thing. How the fairies wanted more of what happened at the parade, and the interviews. The star-crossed lovers. Ha. I put that thought away.

Secondly, where in the world did Vanessa Johnson learn to throw knives? She had deadly accurate precision. First I meet her little sister with extreme anger management issues, and it turns out her older sister can throw knives like she's been doing it her whole life?! What a scary family.

I choked thinking about the third. I witnessed the death of a girl only two years older than me. She actually was dead. No more life, no more breathing for her. It only made me realize that I was not going to be safe anywhere unless I was the last person alive. It made me realize that this was more real than I wanted it to be.

Wanting to get off of that horrible subject, I started wondering what was in my backpack that I had snatched. It was a bright blue color, not very good for camouflage, but very cute. Inside I found a water bottle (empty), a little stopper bottle of iodine (I learned in science that it purifies water), some rope, an extra jacket, and my favorite, a tiny harmonica. I wondered what use it could really serve in this situation other than a morale booster. But playing it might blow my cover, so I put it back in the bag.

Just then, I heard the terrifying noise of four cannon shots blasting, whatever that was, I didn't care, I was scared, then the even more terrifying noise of footsteps crunching through the leaves. Quietly, I tried to roll further under the bush and breathe as steadily as possible. I was virtually unseen from the outside of the bush, so I was hopefully safe for now. Still, I panicked when voices came from only two feet away.

"I already got two," bragged a girl's voice.

"I got one, that boy from Language Arts, I think. I was close to getting that Theatre boy, but..." said another voice, a boy's. I gasped. He was talking about Cameron. I hoped Cameron was safe.

"You guys," said another voice, unmistakably Paisley's. "What are we doing right now? What's our plan?"

"Paisley, you always have to ask to dumbest questions." Yes, that was Lexi speaking. "Vanessa, David, who do we wanna get next?"

They made an alliance? Unfair! So far, I could hear that the group had Vanessa, David Crowell from Dance/Cheer, Paisley, and Lexi.

"How about Simon? For refusing the invitation to our group?" said Vanessa. A few voices affirmed.

"Paisley, why don't you agree?" asked Lexi.

"I just- Uh, no, I, uh, agree" she stammered. Poor Paisley.

"Well, there's nobody here," said Vanessa. "Let's go, maybe they're closer to the Cornucopia." The sound of footsteps and voices moving away from me made me relax a little bit, but my heart rate didn't go down one bit for about 15 minutes after they left.

Cautiously, I poked my head out from underneath the bush and surveyed the area. I needed to get a safer spot to stay, especially for the night. Staying out here in the open was asking for trouble. Seeing that there was nobody around, I crawled out into the forest and stood up.

When I looked up and saw a tall tree with thick branches, my mind flew to thinking about the rope in my backpack. What if I climbed a tree and tied myself in with rope? That might hide me enough, and keep me safe enough, to let me live through the night.

Now the search for a suitable tree. I would have to be high enough so that an arrow or knife couldn't be thrown and I would get hit. It's a good thing I wasn't so afraid of heights and I had some practice with climbing.

I tried to stay close to the trees and not in the middle of the open, while looking for a good tree. I knew I was getting closer to the Cornucopia, I could only just see the clearing through the trees, so I made sure I turned around and got farther away from it. Where did everyone go? Fletcher disappeared to somewhere. Cameron... I could only hope he was still alive.

The blue sky was starting to be tinged with light pink, a sign that the sun was setting soon. I wondered how long had we already been in the arena.

Finally, I found a tree, about in the middle of the forest, good-sized branches, with a couple leafy branches to hide me. Making sure the backpack was securely on my back, I climbed to try and hide there. When I looked down to see that I was about 40 or 50 feet up, I stopped and crawled onto a thick brach that looked like it could hold me well. Carefully, I took the rope out of my bag and tied myself down to the branch, around my waist. Perfect. The sun was now just setting, and it was starting to get dark.

Some strange music played, and suddenly something lit up the darker-growing sky. I whipped around to see. It was a projection showing on the sky.

It showed what looked like the school picture of the girl that was fighting with me for the backpack. It read her Class number, 3, and her name. Michaela Summers.

Then the screen switched to show the number 6, and someone named Jeremy. Then a handsome older boy from 7, and finally the girl from 9. The sky went dark, and the only lights in the sky were the stars. I guessed that they were showing the tributes that- that died. Well, Fletcher and Cameron weren't up there. I breathed a sigh of relief because of that.

It was then that I started to realize the situation at was in. I had no food. I had no water. No weapons, no shelter, no extra blanket to snuggle up in, no one to talk to, nothing to sing. One wrong move, and I'd be up on that screen, too. I almost cried, but the good sense in me reminded me that crying would only make me be found sooner and dehydrate earlier.

I needed sleep. Tomorrow would be a big day - finding food and water, somehow, and trying to stay alive. I tried to relax.

I couldn't sing aloud, it would blow my cover, but nothing was stopping me from singing in my head. I racked my brain for a good song to put me to sleep, anything, but nothing came up. There was too much fear ruling over my mind. After a few minutes of closing my eyes, a melody came, soft, and getting louder...

_"Just close your eyes, _

_The sun is going down_

_You'll be all right,_

_No one can hurt you now..."_

I let it play on. Even though it was the whole reason I was here, all because I sang it.

_"Come morning light,_

_You and I'll be safe and sound."_

I felt the necklaces around my neck, the pendants that were given to me by the people I loved. Mom, Dad, Cameron, Olive, Fletcher...

_"You and I'll be safe and sound..."_

Fletcher. Where was he?

I fell asleep.


	10. Chapter 10: The Fire

**Hi guys! Thanks for keeping up with the story so far! So, I made some changes in the previous chapters. I wanted to revise it, and I've added more Angus (yay, Angive!) and just fixed some weird spots in the story. I encourage you to go back and read the parts I've changed. So that's it, enjoy this chapter!**

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Boom.

What woke me up the next morning, when the sun was just beginning to rise, was a cannon blast. I almost fell out of the tree. Thank goodness I was tied in.

Heart racing, I quieted and listened to the sounds around me. Some sort of bird was singing in the trees, a simple whistled tune. I sighed, and I felt a lot more relaxed.

"Woohoo!" A shout rang out from the forest below me. My eyes shot open again. There were more excited screams coming from the same area. I untied the rope around my waist. Whoever they were, I needed to leave this place or they would find me.

Quickly, I climbed down the tree and began walking away from where the shouts were. My leg muscles were sore from yesterday's running, and the cut on my arm had scabbed up. I felt gross from not brushing my teeth, and I could just feel the grime all over my body... Yuck.

So, what to do today? My stomach grumbled. Oh, yeah. Find food and water. There had to be some in this huge arena, otherwise it'd be pretty boring Games. I just needed to look. I kept on walking in the same direction.

After I kept going for what I guessed was 20 minutes, I stopped in my tracks. Wait, it I was going away from the Cornucopia, wasn't I going away from where the tributes would hang about? What if Fletcher was in there? As I walked farther away from the center, I was possibly walking farther away from him.

I decided that I should stop worrying about it and keep going. First water, then Fletcher. My mouth was dry, I needed hydration.

After what felt like forever, in the distance I could see a tiny pool of water. Thirstily, I ran up to it. I almost dunked my head in and started drinking, but then I got a good look at the condition of the water pool. It was dirty.

I pulled out the empty water canteen and iodine bottle from my backpack. Scooping it in the water, I got a good amount, then I dropped in a small amount of iodine and closed the lid. Now, to wait. While I waited, I climbed a tree and tied myself in again, for safety. Off the ground was safer.

I thought it had been about a half hour, so I opened the canteen and drank the water thirstily. It was big enough to quench my thirst and fill me up with water. Delicious, sweet water. I didn't even care that it was warm, I was so thankful for it.

I climbed down from the branches and got another canteen full, and added more iodine. This was a perfect spot. I was far from the Cornucopia, I had a water source, and good tree to sleep in. I could spend the Games here, just waiting for everyone else to kill each other off...

But Fletcher! Cameron! Still, I could just... hide here... get some more sleep...

Boom.

I woke up again, but this time, not to a cannon. At first I thought I was dreaming when my eyes opened to see orange and red dancing all over the place. Then I felt heat, and found that the forest around me was on fire.

I hastily untied the rope that held me down. When the knot came undone, I almost slipped and fell 30 feet through the air. I scrambled down the tree and jumped the last 5 feet. Ow, my ankle! No, I had to keep running!

As I bolted away from the fire, I passed the little pool of water that I had treasured while I had it. That may have been my only water source for a long time. I was glad I had a canteen in my bag.

Flames licked my jacket and it caught fire. I shrieked and kept running, even faster now, but that made the flames worse. I violently shrugged off my backpack, one of the straps broke, and tore off the jacket. Grabbing the backpack again, I left the jacket to burn as I kept going.

Crack. Boom.

It was too late when I found out that a tree was falling. A fiery branch landed right on top of my right leg, and I screamed in pain as I fell to the ground. The searing heat made me jerk away, and my leg came free. I knew I was badly burned, without even looking. Another tree was falling, and if I didn't move, I would be cooked to a crisp. Somehow I crawled out of the way in time, and pick myself up and ran.

I ran until I found a pond. Without hesitation, I threw myself into it, choking at the pain of the water hitting my burned leg and injured arm.

"Hey, look!" said a voice. Oh please, not now. Any time but now.

"Get her!" said another voice, no doubt Lexi's. Four running figures came from behind a rock, and I dashed out of the water and bolted. It took them a while to cross the river, and I used that time to climb a tree up high. I was wet and cold, shivering, and the burn on my leg stung with pain, but I clung onto the tree branch for dear life.

"Well, climb it," I heard from right below me. I didn't even want to look down. Whoever was going to climb the tree was going to catch up to me and kill me. This was my death.

"Ow!" I looked down to see where the noise came from. I was really high up in the air, which freaked me out, and Lexi's attack group looked like bugs to me. One of them, David, I thought, was laying on the ground and Lexi (I could it was her tell because of her extremely shiny blonde hair) was kneeling beside him. I could hear her high-pitched voice from up in the tree, comforting David.

"I'll do it," announced Vanessa. She started to climb, and got about a quarter way to where I was, and then a branch snapped from underneath her feet. She fell, and caught herself by grabbing a branch with one hand. She quickly climbed back down.

"Lexi, try shooting," she commanded, and the blonde obeyed, grabbing a bow off of her back, and an arrow from her quiver. Oh, no, please don't. She loaded the arrow, pulled back, and I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the worst.

Something made a "clunk" below me. Still holding on tight to the tree trunk, I looked to see that the arrow had went up about fifteen feet, then turned and fallen and stuck into a tree branch. Lexi couldn't shoot high enough to hit me. I relaxed. I watched her, almost amused, load another arrow, and then someone ran through the bushes.

"Stop," the person said. They held a bow in their hand, and their face was covered in a hood. The person shook off the hood, revealing their face. Wait a second... It was... No, it couldn't be... It was Fletcher!

"What?" said Lexi, angrily.

"Wait, no, I mean, you're only wasting your arrows," explained Fletcher quickly. "She's got to come down sometime. We can wait her out, make camp here." Great suggestion, genius. Now I'd be stuck up there, with limited food and water, while they waited for me to come down so they could kill me. Who's side was he on?

"Not bad, A.N.T. Maybe allying with you wasn't such a bad idea."

I bit my lip to keep from screaming. He made an alliance with the people that ganged up to kill people? I couldn't believe that just earlier, I was trying to find him. No way was he getting my apology now.

"I almost caught the twin girl, from Band," bragged Fletcher, slinging the bow on his back. It looked like he was trying to act tough. I grit my teeth.

Vanessa sat down on the ground. "Go collect wood for fire with Paisley," she ordered, ignoring Fletcher's act. Fletcher stood for a second, hesitating, then he walked off to collect twigs as told. Paisley did the same, leaving obediently. Fletcher walked to the other side of the tree and looked up at me. I scowled and turned my head away.

Well, better get comfortable. With great difficulty, because of my burned leg, I turned around on the tree branch, so that I was sitting with my back to the trunk. My burn stung badly, even when nothing was touching it. I could barely look at it without feeling sick, it was so blistered and bloody.

I pulled my backpack around and got out the half of the rope I had left. I lost most of it in the fire. Now, I could only tie myself down once and not loop the rope around me twice.

I also took out the extra jacket and put it on. Thank goodness I had it. The other one burned away, and the night before was very cold. I would need it. Next, I grabbed the water bottle. I had to something about this burn.

I unscrewed the lid and brought it right above my burn. I tried pouring some on, but instead of relieving the pain like I thought it would, it made it hurt so bad that I almost dropped my precious water bottle. I squeaked but didn't scream.

But I had to do something. I poured water into my cupped hands, and counted down from three, then dropped my hands. It stung again, and this time, I almost fell out of the tree.

Feeling dehydrated, I took a small gulp of water. Great, I only had half the bottle left. I'd have to draw it out for... Well, for however long Vanessa's hunting group kept me trapped in the tree.

Below me, the group made a fire as the sun went down. I watched the fire crackle as I shivered, jealous, when the music from the night before played again. My eyes turned to the skies.

The projection that night showed only one person, that one cannon that scared me awake. It was a chubby-faced girl from District 7.

Soon, the fire on the ground died down, and Vanessa told Fletcher to grab a bit more fire fuel. She probably would have sent Paisley, too, but the poor girl was curled up, asleep, away from the group. Fletcher reluctantly left, a little deeper into the dark woods, to retrieve what was asked for. I listened in to the whispered conversation the rest of the group had.

"I don't know," said Lexi.

"I think we should just kill him now. He's useless," said Vanessa.

"No he's not. Look what he's doing now," whispered David. "He's great for sending to do jobs. He's scared we'll kill him otherwise."

"Guys, why did we ally with him anyway?" Lexi sighed.

"Because," insisted Vanessa. "He's... useful."

"'Nessa, it kinda was dumb. 'Join us or die.' I mean of course he's going to choose life over instant death," argued David.

Vanessa leaned back. "Lover Boy's a sponsor magnet," she said. "We need that."

Suddenly, I felt sorry for feeling so mad at Fletcher earlier. So that's why he was with them. He was being held captive, like I was right now. They were calling him "Lover Boy," and planning to use sponsor gifts that were supposed to be meant for him. I wanted to crush Vanessa.

Fletcher emerged from the shadows, carrying more wood. Vanessa didn't actually add it to the fire, but instead told the others that they should get some sleep. Lexi curled up next to David (eww, yuck) and Vanessa against a tree, and they fell asleep.

By the faint light of the moon, I watched Fletcher intently. He held his knees to his chest, and looked up at me. I didn't know if he could tell from this high up, but I waved and smiled, an apologetic smile, as if to say, "we're still friends." He waved too, weakly.

Something made a tinkling sound, like a wind chime, or music box, above me. I looked to where it was coming from. A small box, attached to a silver parachute, was sitting about two branches away. Huh? For me?

I untied myself just enough to reach to grab it. I yanked the box from the parachute and sat back down. Curiously, I opened it. Inside was a note and a jar.

_Apply to burn, remember the plan - O & A _

I sighed, frustratedly, upon seeing the note. Quickly, I crumpled it and threw it in my backpack.

Now for the jar. I opened it, and found creamy white liquid inside. I dipped in my fingers, and they felt cooled. Yes, relief... I smeared the stuff on my burn, and the red slowly disappeared. I put on another scoop. Soon, the burn was all healed, just a little pink. Hopefully, I applied the very last of the medicine to the cut on my arm. It had the same effect, and the wound healed.

"Thank you," I said aloud, to the sky. Thank you, Olive and Angus. Thank you, sponsors.

Relieved and extremely happy, I leaned against the tree and fell into a sweet sleep.


	11. Chapter 11: The Escape

When I woke up, the first thing I saw when I looked down was Fletcher, standing up and watching me as the rest of my enemies slept peacefully. His face lit up when he realized I was awake.

Putting his finger to his mouth to signal for me to be quiet, he gestured for me to come down from the tree. What? I shook my head firmly. Seriously, maybe he really was trying to get me killed.

Fletcher grabbed a knife from the ground and held it out towards sleeping Vanessa. He nodded. I saw. He was trying to help me escape.

As silently as possible, I untied the rope around me and stood up carefully on my branch. It was difficult, since I just woke up, but I climbed down the tree slowly. When my feet touched the ground, the leaves crunched. Oops. Thankfully, nobody stirred.

I turned around, and Fletcher and I just stared at each other for a second. I was trying to decode his facial expression. Oh, I would have so much to say to him, once we got away.

But first there was the "once." We had to get away first. Fletcher bent down and took Lexi's bow and quiver, which was carelessly left lying on the ground next to her. We shared a look of disgust at her and David cuddling. Fletcher handed me the archery supplies, and I put them on top of my backpack. Quietly, we started to sneak away into the woods.

We were about thirty feet away from them, when something whizzed past my ear and lodged into a tree. A knife. Just like in my nightmare.

"Hiya!" shouted someone, jumping from the bushes. The tough boy from Woodworking. He had a spear, pulled back to toss right at Fletcher.

"Ha!" Fletcher grunted as he skillfully grabbed the knife from his belt, and all in one fluid movement, tossed it at the attacker. It hit his arm, and he dropped the spear, crying out in pain and falling back into the bushes. No cannon. The boy was still alive. Wait a second, now my best friend was throwing knives like a pro, too?

Behind us, Lexi, David, Vanessa, and Paisley were waking up.

"No!" cried Vanessa, snatching up some knives and coming at the two of us. She stumbled, her muscles weren't fully awake yet, and Fletcher grabbed my hand. He pulled me along as we bolted through the forest.

Vanessa wasn't representing the Gym class for nothing. She was as fast as a bullet, and catching up to Fletcher and I quickly. Lexi and David trailed behind, screaming at us.

I thought things would be all right when Vanessa slowed and we kept running, but I looked back and in one second of my forgetfulness, our escape plan was ruined. When I turned back around from looking at Vanessa, a thick tree branch decided it would be a great time to give me a high-five. In the face.

I fell to the ground, screaming. Something warm was covering my face, and my hands shot up to hold my nose. I should have had the sense to get up and keep running, but my head hurt so badly that I just lay there.

"Chyna!" cried a voice, I think Fletcher's, I couldn't tell because it was distorted. Fletcher knelt down by my side, and he became blurry. "No, you have to get up!"

His voice brought me back to reality. If I kept laying there, I'd die, right there, by Vanessa's hand. I wanted to live another day.

With all of the effort I could muster, I pulled myself up off the ground, with Fletcher's help, and we ran. We ran across the top of a long, steep hill, and suddenly, still running, Fletcher glanced at me.

"Chyna," he huffed, out of breath. "I promise... we'll find each other... again..." And with that, he reached out and shoved me, hard, knocking me off balance and sending me screaming, tumbling down the hill. Something scratched my face, nearly poking out my eye, and the blood from my nose was smearing on my cheeks. Gross.

By the time I stopped rolling and falling down, I was at the base of the hill and, I thought, completely bruised up. I wiped my nose on my jacket sleeve.

Then I could see what Fletcher was planning. He was still running on the path we were, Vanessa not far behind, distracting her from me. He pushed me down hill, out of danger.

In anger at Vanessa for separating us and determination to see Fletcher again, I grabbed the bow from my back and loaded an arrow. I pulled back.

"Ahh!" I cried as I released the string, sending an arrow flying up the hill. I thought that it wouldn't make it. But the arrow soared, going up the hill, flying, right towards Lexi.

I watched in shock as Lexi fell to the ground, and David panicked beside her. A cannon blasted. She was dead. I killed her. I stared at the bow, held in my hands, and dropped it into the grass. I backed away and fell to my knees.

For all of my middle school and first high school years, Lexi had been torturing me and my friends nonstop. We had so much history, even though it was bad, and now, in a fit of my rage, I killed her. A human being. I was shaking with guilt and frustration.

Now, Fletcher was gone, too, and who knows what would happen to him. Then, to make matters worse, another cannon shot off. Maybe that was Fletcher.

I was ready to abandon all hope. Not even caring that it was completely suicidal, I rolled over in the grass at the base of that hill and waited for someone to finish off my already half-dead soul.


	12. Chapter 12: The Alliance

**Hope you all like this chapter... Comment, tell me what you think!**

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"What are you doing?"

I didn't bother moving. I didn't know how many hours I had been laying there, and really, I didn't care. Finally, someone was there to kill me.

The person's footsteps came closer to me. Suddenly, Paisley's face appeared right in my line of sight. That, I did react to.

"Paisley?" I muttered. She twisted her face into a frown.

"You look horrible," she said, helping me to sit up. "Are you OK?"

"No!" I screamed, pushing her away. "I... I..." I fell back down to the ground. I felt terribly weak. My stomach growled and I curled up in pain, and I realized that I had been going almost two full days without food. I was starving to death.

"Let me help you," she said, coming closer to me. This time, I didn't resist. She helped me to stand, and I followed as she brought me to a fallen log in the woods and sat me down behind it. It made a nice little hiding spot.

Paisley went away for a moment and returned with her jacket sleeve dripping wet. She gently cleaned off my face with it, wiping off the half-dried blood and grime. When she was finished, she smiled at me.

"Thanks, Paisley," I whispered. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a handful of small pieces of dried meat.

"It's not much, but here," she said, putting them in my hand. I ate the handful hungrily. The first food I'd eaten in two days, now. I was surprised I had remained standing that long without sustenance.

After eating, I felt a burst of energy and suddenly my will to live was back. I threw my arms around Paisley's neck.

"Thank you, so much." I pulled away. "I'm so sorry, about... Lexi," I choked out. Paisley smiled sadly at me.

"It's OK. These Games have changed her. Even if she did live, her life would have been torn too much for her to be the same."

I contemplated Paisley's words. She was right. Lexi was torn apart by being put in here, being forced to kill or be killed. The questions posed to me, too.

What if I got out alive? Would it be the same for me? Not even really alive anymore, but my soul stuck inside the arena... Forever?

"Fletcher's still alive, you know," Paisley said to break the silence.

"He is?" She nodded. I couldn't help smiling in joy. But then an important question entered my mind. "Paisley, why did you join them? Vanessa's group, I mean."

She shrugged. "I would have died otherwise. I'm no good at surviving in the wilderness, or fighting. They had all the supplies. I didn't want to kill anyone." I felt sorry for Paisley. She was just so sweet, yet pathetic.

"Do you want to be allies?" I asked her. Her face lit up.

"Yes please."

We shook on it, and then the Fairy Capitol began playing overhead. Our eyes went to the skies.

The dead tributes from today were Lexi and the girl from 11, Health.

Paisley and I decided we should call it a night. We curled up under a blanket of leaves and fell sound asleep.

In the morning, my stomach was rumbling again, and Paisley and I set out to find some food.

Paisley and I never really talked much at school. She was a few grades ahead of me, and hung out with Lexi all the time, so we never got to know each other. But talking to her in the arena, I found out that she was really sweet and caring. She told me about Cheer team, and I told her about A.N.T. Farm.

As we combed the forest for any berry bushes or squirrels I could attempt to shoot with my bow, Paisley's eyes widened and I could almost see the lightbulb above her head go off.

"Hey, I didn't even think of this earlier!" She leaned in closer to me. "The food supply," she whispered. "We can blow it up."

"What?" I was confused. What was she talking about?

"Simon Chase joined Vanessa and David's group when Lexi died. They have all the supplies from the Cornucopia in a pile in the middle."

"Just laying there? Well why didn't you say so? Let's go rob it!"

"But they put land mines around it," said Paisley. This made me stop.

"Where'd they get land mines?"

"They were in a box in the Cornucopia. Don't ask me why, ask the fairies." Paisley made a waving motion with her hand to the sky, obviously in sarcasm. I hoped the people who were running the Games didn't know she was poking fun of them, or maybe they would set the forest on fire around us as punishment. There were no flames, so I took that as a good sign.

"OK. So what do we do?"

Paisley got an excited grin on her face. "We blow it up!" she cheered.

Paisley agreed to wait behind while I went up to the Cornucopia. We carefully planned out our meeting spot in the woods, where I would go when my job was finished. It took not too long to get to the outskirts of the huge Cornucopia field, and crouch in the bushes with my bow ready.

Paisley was right. Upturned dirt spots were all over the ground, surrounding a large pile of boxes and bags. A dark-haired boy sat guard under a tent of shade, watching over the pile of goodies.

A spare bow and quiver leaned up against an opened box of random supplies like a sleeping bag and canteen. It was so tempting... It was hard to think that in a few moments, I'd be destroying it.

Just as I pulled out an arrow, the figure of someone running caught my attention. The person, her noticeable strawberry-tinted hair tied up in a bun, was coming from the other side of the Cornucopia, and obviously didn't see me.

I vaguely recognized her from school. She was Olive's biggest rival in the smarts category, and Skidmore used to send her to represent the school in competitions. But then Olive came along, and she would always be #1, because of her eidetic memory.

The girl silently made her way up to where the land mines were buried.

The tall boy standing guard didn't even notice the girl, who was now skillfully leaping and stepping to avoid all of the land mines. I watched her, amazed. Finally, she jumped and landed right at the base of the pile. She grabbed a few apples from a bag, the canteen, an extra jacket, and a couple tins of crackers and dried fruit. She stuck these into her pockets, followed her pattern through the mine maze back, and ran away, back into the forest. The guard was completely oblivious.

At first I thought about trying that for myself, but then decided not to. However she did that without getting herself blown up, I definitely couldn't do that.

It was time. I looked at the pile, figuring out what to do. I didn't think that simply firing an arrow to the ground was enough. I needed weight to fall down on the mines, to blow them up. But I'd have to go out there and push a box down for that to happen.

My eyes landed on the bag of apples the clever girl had taken from. It was hanging from a box, and I suddenly got an idea.

I loaded my arrow, and pulled back on the bow string. Sure, it was a long shot that I would actually make it, but then again, I hit Lexi from thirty feet down a huge hill. Maybe that was just dumb luck, but I was ready to try for it again.

Release. The arrow soared through the air and stuck into the bag. Nope. I pulled out another arrow. Aim... Fire. This one flew past the pile, and the guard turned his head to see what was going on. Thankfully, he was a lazy guard, and simply saw there was no person there and sat back in his chair.

This was it. I couldn't waste any more arrows, I needed them for defense and hunting for food. I loaded my last arrow. I breathed, steadily.

Whoosh. The arrow seemed to fly in slow motion. It hit and stuck in the bag, and I clenched my fists in frustration. Right as I turned to run and leave, I heard a ripping noise.

The arrow had apparently hit in the right spot, next to the other arrow, making a large enough hole in the fabric. The weight of the apples inside pushed on the fabric, and it tore, making the apples fall down the pile, onto the ground...

When the explosion happened, I flew back from the impact. My shoulder hit a rock, and I cried out in pain. My ears were ringing, horribly. Over the high-pitched whining in my ears, I could hear yelling, and I sat up to see what was going on.

Through the trees and bushes that hid me as I shot that arrows, I could see the guard boy staring open-mouthed at the pile of rubble that used to be food and weapons. Vanessa stormed from the woods to the ashes and remains, David and Simon behind her. She freaked out, and so did Simon. They both screamed at him, and the boy held his hands up in defense, most likely swearing his innocence.

I couldn't hear much, but I watched somewhat guiltily as Simon came up the the guard boy and grabbed his head, quickly twisting it in what looked like a painful position. The boy fell to the ground, and the cannon went off. Simon had snapped the boy's neck.

Fearful and horrified, yet proud that I'd gotten rid of Vanessa's supplies, I tried to ignore my injured shoulder and the fading ringing in my ears as I picked myself up and began walking to the meeting spot Paisley and I planned.

It was about ten minutes away, and when I finally reached the spot, I smiled. Paisley had set up a little fire area, with twigs and leaves and logs set up nicely. But where was Paisley?

I called out her name, and when there was no response, my smile faded. I called out again, but no answer. I began running through the woods.

"Paisley?" Oh, no. I just made her my ally, I didn't want to lose her, too! I couldn't have another person's life on my hands!

"Chyna!" cried a horrible, desperate call. "Chyna!" It was Paisley's cry.

I sprinted through the forest, following her voice.

"Paisley, where are you?"

"Chyna!" she screamed. I weaved in and out throughout the trees, and then, I found her. She was entangled in a net on the ground, struggling against it. Someone must have set a trap. I ran to her and quickly began pulling away the net. I didn't have a knife, or I would have cut the ropes. This was taking too long.

Someone appeared from behind a tree and threw a spear, and in defense I loaded an arrow and sent it flying. The cannon went off, I had hit the girl with the spear, but this time, I wasn't so guilty. I would do anything to defend my friends.

I looked back at Paisley, and smiled. She didn't smile back. It took me a moment to realize that the spear the girl had thrown had hit her.

"Oh, no," I said quietly. Half of Paisley's body was still entangled in the net, and the spear was in her stomach. I tried to pinch myself, wake myself up from the nightmare, but it didn't work. Paisley looked up at me, her face in an expression of shock.

Then Paisley began to cry. She sobbed, and I started crying, too. She coughed, and blood dripped from the corner of her mouth.

"Would you... sing for me, Chyna?" she asked, appearing as if it took all of her energy. "Sing me to sleep?"

"Yes," I whispered back, a tear falling off my cheek and landing on her forehead. I wiped it off. "What do you want me to sing?"

"Anything. A lullaby."

I wiped my eyes on my jacket sleeve, and swallowed. If Paisley wanted me to sing to her, I would. It was her last request, and no matter how hard I was crying, I would do what she asked for.

I could only think of one song, and I began to sing, my voice catching as I held back tears.

_Just close your eyes,_

_The sun is going down_

_You'll be all right,_

_No one can hurt you now_

_Come morning light, you and I'll be_

_Safe and sound..._

Paisley inhaled shakily, and the corners of her lips turned up just the slightest bit.

"Thanks," she breathed, and this time, she didn't inhale. The cannon blast that went off in the distance sounded so far away to me. I closed Paisley's eyes for her, and rested her head on the ground.

I don't remember how long I cried. I screamed, I pounded on the ground, and I felt like the worst person on earth.

I had been singing the song that killed her in the first place. That stupid, beautiful melody that brought 24 innocent high school students here, where an evil fairy wanted to watch us kill each other. She called it a Game. And I had played along, murdering two people and being part of two more undeserved deaths.

I knew something they would hate. All of the fairies, I would show them that what they were doing was wrong. I went out into the woods, and found a small meadow with flowers. I carefully picked the wild daisies and Queen Anne's lace and violets that grew, and brought them to Paisley. I put a few in her hair, and laid them around her, then looked up and talked to the sky. I hoped they could hear me.

"Look what you've done. You say that a curse must be paid for with 23 innocent people dying. You put us in here, and tell us that we must kill each other. Friends die. People turn against their peers. You've killed more than 23 people. You've killed the families of the ones that die, the friends of the ones that die, and you've killed the students forced to watch this. You've killed the one person that wins and gets to come home."

I gritted my teeth. Hopefully, the camera was on me right now, and everyone saw this.

"Don't you see? You're murderers, every single one of you fairies watching this and cheering it on. You're playing the Game, but the price is your soul."

It took me a long time to leave the place in the woods where Paisley was. After a while, I just picked myself up off the ground and left. I needed to find food, and I needed to find Fletcher. There was a nice little berry bush in the meadow I had gotten flowers from, and I picked all of them and put them in a pouch in my backpack.

That night, I climbed another tree, and watched the projection on the sky. Paisley, the girl I shot from 5, the tall boy from 8 that Simon had killed, and the boy from 9.

Tomorrow would be a new day. Determined to try and make things a little better, I resolved that tomorrow I would go and search for Fletcher. He promised that we would meet again, and I was going to do my part at making that happen.


End file.
